Fort
Collins, CO (PRWEB) October 14, 2008 -- With the upheaval in our economy,
there has been quite a surge in the number of people applying for an HSA-qualified
health plan. Health
Savings Accounts, or HSAs, allow you to put aside pre-tax money to cover
future medical expenses. Anyone with a plan effective no later than
December 1st is qualified to make a 2008 tax deductible contribution to their
HSA, and may be able to reduce the taxes they owe on April 15th by $1900 or
more.
While
conventional co-pay plans continue to be popular, more people are choosing
to invest in plans that work with a Health Savings Account. According
to Wiley Long, President at HSA for America,
"In times like these people are looking for ways to reduce their health insurance
expenses and they certainly don't want to pay more taxes than they have to."
HSA plans have premiums that are much lower than conventional copay plans.
And any money deposited into the HSA is tax deductible, which will directly
lower your taxable income.
In
addition to reducing their premiums and lowering their taxes, HSA holders
also are able to begin building a tax-deferred medical retirement account.
Any growth to this account is tax-deferred and if a withdrawal is made for
medical expenses, that withdrawal is tax-free.
If
you have seriously considered making changes to your current health care plan,
now is the time to act. You must have your HSA-qualified
health insurance in force no later than December 1 in order to take advantage
of your 2008 HSA contribution, and receive the accompanying tax reduction.
Because the underwriting process can sometimes take a few weeks, most experts
recommend that you apply for a plan as soon as possible.
Anyone
who does have a plan in place before December 1st will be able to contribute
to their HSA for 2008 up to $2,900 as an individual, or up to $5,800 as a
family. People over 55 years old can also make an additional contribution
of up to $900 to their account. Someone in a 28% tax bracket who makes
a $5,800 contribution will reduce their April 15th tax bill by $1,624 - even
more when they count the savings on state income taxes.
Please
visit our website to find complete details about available HSA
plans. You will also find answers to questions you likely have about
these plans and testimonials of people who have already made the switch to
an HSA plan.
Long stated, "We've never been so busy. Everybody is interested in saving
money, and finding tax-sheltered ways to save for the future."
